During an interview with lapatilla.com, within the framework of the elections for the new board of directors of the Apure State Cattlemen’s Association (Agapure), Celso Fantinel, President of the Confederation of Associations of Agricultural Producers of Venezuela (Fedeagro), reported that the recovery of food production in the country during the year 2024 is thanks to greater access to bank credit and elimination of permits and taxes, despite the fact that deficiencies still persist in the supply of fuels and electrical service.
María Eugenia Díaz // Correspondent lapatilla.com
“We are producing enough white corn to supply 66% (of the domestic market), in order to guarantee the Venezuelan arepa; rice, 54%. Sugar cane as well, this year’s harvest 66%, vegetables and fruits 100%, thanks to an effort by producers since 2017. Despite hyperinflation, the pandemic and as a result of the loss of bank credit, we have been recovering capacities,” said Fantinel.
The President of Fedeagro visited San Fernando, capital of the Apure state, in support of the producers’ union, invited by Andrés Colmenárez, former president of Agapure, Chara Melgarejo, former Director of the National Federation of Livestock Farmers (Fedenaga) and Luis Prado, former Vice President of Fedenaga, to bring a message of hope to livestock producers and farmers.
“We have carried out the battle of agricultural and livestock policies in Caracas together with the Executive to eliminate bottlenecks created by permits, and so that the necessary supplies arrive for the maintenance of extensive crops such as corn, rice, sugar cane, vegetables, which need a large number of agro-inputs and diesel, much more than livestock. We have supported the importation and elimination of the VAT Tax on many veterinary medicines and vaccines, the work done is arduous. But we see how food production is recovering,” he said in the interview for lapatilla.com.
Currently, the agricultural portfolio is going to close above 300 million dollars in the country. “Four years ago it fell to 40 million dollars, this demonstrates a recovery,” said the president of Fedeagro.
In Apure, Fantinel highlights the work in the fields and recognizes the existence of a small niche dedicated to the production of corn and tubers in this plains state.
“In Apure there is capacity to develop rice planting, because Apure is a state that has abundant fresh water and stands out for its livestock production and animal protein, but it can also produce corn and rice. Venezuela has between 12% and 13% of the world’s fresh water in underground and surface water. “We are in a country that has 365 days of sunshine, which is why Venezuela has the necessary characteristics to become the food basket for other countries in the world, especially for Asian countries because their territories are basically desert,” he highlighted.
Recovery in 2024
Fantinel recalls the drop in production of up to 60 percentage points last year. “Corn had fallen by 25%, rice by 20%, sugarcane by 30%. We have been recovering productive capacities year after year. However, energy is core, the supply of diesel, electricity, not only for primary activity, but also for the industries in charge of transforming raw materials into food to reach large consumption centers,” he noted.
He insists on the need for Venezuelan producers to trust in the work of the federations and associations of producers dedicated to the defense of the country’s productive unions.
“Soon we will become true business units, we will evolve. Through associations, producers can establish the necessary links to sell their production in large consumption centers and bring better benefits to our ranchers and agricultural producers,” Fantinel added.